Produced by: Manoj Kumar
A revolutionary adaptive optics system will allow LIGO to use laser power beyond 1 megawatt, dramatically improving its ability to detect deep-space gravitational waves.
By fixing thermal distortions in LIGO’s massive mirrors, this breakthrough will enhance sensitivity and unlock clearer signals from colliding black holes and neutron stars.
The planned 40-km Cosmic Explorer observatory will build on this technology, allowing scientists to detect gravitational waves from the universe’s earliest moments.
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Gravitational-wave detection is limited by quantum mechanics, but the new technology developed at UC Riverside will help bypass these fundamental barriers.
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With enhanced detectors, scientists may soon observe cosmic events that occurred before the first stars formed, offering a glimpse into the universe’s infancy.
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The adaptive optics system will refine LIGO’s ability to detect merging black holes, providing unprecedented details on their properties and formation.
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Cosmic Explorer will be ten times larger than LIGO, making it the most ambitious gravitational-wave observatory ever built.
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From the true nature of black holes to the universe’s expansion rate, this breakthrough could help resolve some of physics’ biggest questions.
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This innovation could lead to discoveries beyond our imagination, reshaping our understanding of spacetime, relativity, and the fundamental nature of the cosmos.
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